us on twitter. go ahead, tweet me at wolf blitzer. you can tweet the show@cnnsitroom. you can watch us live. you can dvr the show if you don't want to miss a moment. that's it. thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." "erin burnett outfront" starts right now. next, breaking news. a lifetime ban for l.a. clippers owner donald sterling. tonight he is already talking about fighting back. plus, the woman heard on sterling's racist rant. an "outfront" investigation whom. v. stiviano? and one company says it has found a plane in the indian ocean. could it be that plane? let's go "outfront." >> and good evening, everyone. i'm erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, we begin with the breaking news, banned for life. it was a swift and historic move. the nba announcing today los

angeles clippers owner donald sterling barred from having any association with the league after audio recordings of sterling going on a racist rant to his ex-mistress were made public. in addition, sterile cog be forced to sell the team he has owned for 33 years. tonight, sterling remains defiant, telling a veteran broadcaster that his team is not for sale. in a moment, i'm going to be speaking to former nba all star and sacramento mayor kevin johnson. he has been speaking on behalf of the nba players. first, though, here is jason carroll with more. >> effective immediately, i am banning mr. sterling for life from any association with the clippers organization or the nba. >> reporter: the punishment the harshest in the history of the national basketball association. donald sterling stripped of his team and his affiliation with the nba. he is now banned from attending

nba games, banned from the clippers facility, prohibited from participating in clippers business, fined $2.5 million, the maximum allowed under the nba constitution. >> i will urge the board of governors to exercise its authority to force a sale of the team, and will do everything in my power to ensure that that happens. >> reporter: words of support coming in for the decision. more than a dozen teams releasing statements backing silver, including the chicago bulls, the detroit pistons, and the boston celtics. tweets from players like magic johnson. commissioner silver showed great leadership in banning l.a. clippers owner donald steriling for life. >> we may be a two-team town, but today we are behind one team. >> reporter: sterling's wife defended him as the couple left an l.a. restaurant sunday night. >> are you a racist, mr. steriling? >>, no of course not. >> reporter: but sterling's racist words heard on a recorded

conversation with his mistress. he was allegedly upset with her after she posted pictures with african americans like magic johnson on instagram. >> i'm just saying it's too bad you can't admire him privately. and during your entire [ bleep ] life, your leitch i don't care, you can do anything. but don't put him on an event for the world to have to see so they have to call me. and don't bring him to my games, okay? >> mr. sterling acknowledged it was his voice on the tape, and he has not expressed to me directly any other views. >> reporter: i've wondered if you have spoken to mr. sterling about this ban or any of his representatives, and if so, what has mr. sterling's reaction been to the punishment? >> i did not speak directly to his representatives about this ban. they were informed shortly before this press conference. i did not hear precisely what their reaction was. >> reporter: cnn calls to sterling's representatives not

returned. silver says he personally felt the need to send a strong message. >> i think this is regardless of anyone's religion, ethnicity, nationality, i think this is incredibly hurtful. >> reporter: and i think the question that a lot of people have, erin, is how in the world can the commissioner force steriling to sell his team. well, apparently there is some sort of a provision in the nba constitution which allows just that under certain situations. specifically, nba owners have the right, according to this provision by a 3/4 vote to revoke ownership if that ownership has done something to adversely affect either players or the nba. and silver has made it very clear that he has this 3/4 vote. >> and you and i were talking before this. you grew up in l.a. sure did. >> he has obviously owned the team since the early '80s. this was an open secret. >> it was the dirty open secret that everyone knew about in l.a. who went to games, who were familiar with the clippers that at the very lease this guy was odd. and at the worst, that he was not friendly towards people of

color. it was something that we heard over and over again. it was the dirty open secret. so not surprised actually when i heard some of these racist recordings. what was surprising to a lot of people in that room today was the ban. >> was the ban. but after essentially sort of looking the other way or not listening to things for a long time that they would come out so aggressively. jason, thank you very much. and i want to bring in sacramento mayor and former nba all star kevin johnson "outfront." he has been leading the nba players' response to these remarks. mayor, good to have you on again. you called this a defining moment when you spoke today. sterling, though, still the team's owner, obviously. you to get 3/4 of the league's owners to vote to terminate him. they have indicated that they support what happened today. but, you know, we don't know how this vote will go. do you know how the earliest we could see the vote? >> i think commissioner silver did a great job. and when i say defining moment, he defined the moment. his action was swift. it was decisive. it was exactly what the players were hoping for.

you know, the players said to commissioner silver they wanted an immediate investigation. number two, they wanted to make sure that their voices were heard collectively. and number three, whatever that maximum penalty was, they wanted the commissioner to execute that, which would lead to no ownership involvement by mr. sterling. i do think when listening to commissioner silver today, he said he is going to move quickly. he said he is not going to wait. he has talked to a number of owners. they're very supportive. typically, the nba has a kind of board of governors meeting in july, mid-july in vegas. but i don't think he is going to wait. he is going to assemble a team immediately. >> so that will happen immediately. veteran sportscaster jim gray this afternoon was on fox. he spoke to sterling before the announcement, and sterling told jim he was adamant the team is not for sale. and that is a guy who sued the league for $100 million in '84 and got his fine reduced. are you -- are you worried this guy is going to fight?

>> i think everyone expects him to fight. but i think commissioner silver clearly said today i do have the power and the authority to give somebody a lifetime ban. and when that lifetime ban happens, when that reality sits in, you're not going to be involved. then he didn't stop there. he said i'm also going to fine you the maximum, which is $2.5 million. we're going to have the nba and the players association figure out how to spend those dollars in productive ways. then he said you're going to be barred from any association with basketball. and lastly, i'm going to force a sale. and i know how to get 3/4 vote to make that happen. >> so, mayor, it's interesting. you said everyone expects him to fight, because i think a lot of people watching that today said all right, this guy cannot fight. but it's interesting that there is that expectation. but when we talk about a sale, as you know, 76% of the players in the nba are african american. 43% of the coaches. there is only one majority black owner, michael jordan. they're saying magic johnson might be interested in buying the clippers.

should it be someone who is black who buys this team or do you care? >> no. we just want -- we want it in the hands of somebody who espouses the values of the nba. it's about respect. it's about loyalty. it's about realizing that you're part of one family. and that's an nba family. we're not a family of owners or a family of players. we are one family, and we speak in one voice. you cannot have one person tarnish the nba. and that's unfortunately what happened. >> so today we were actually at our show meet when you were speaking, and everybody was watching you. and you said something that caught our attention. i wanted to play it back for you. >> i hope that every bigot in this country sees what happened to mr. sterling and recognizes that if he can fall, so can you. >> and, you know, it got this conversation going, mayor. the dallas mavericks owner mark cuban, as you know, talked about it being a slippery slope. if you force sterling out over comments he made in private,

what kind of precedent might that set. i'm wondering what you think about that. are you worried about the precedent this sets? >> i'm not worried about a bad precedent being set. this was a perfect precedent. this is -- i felt like collectively, this country gasped when he said we completed the investigation. it was mr. sterling's voice on it. and there will be a lifetime ban. at that point, the country was able to exhale and said you know what? when we say a defining moment, we're now able to move forward. and with all due respect to mark cuban who ultimately i think will support commissioner silver in this fine and ultimately these sanctions is, this is not a slippery slope. this is a cliff. and this man has fallen off a cliff. and that's just a reality. >> all right. mayor johnson, thank you very much again for taking the time. and "outfront" next, donald steriling now banned from the nba. but what about his estranged wife? is she going take over the team? and how much money could he make from this? and who is v. stiviano,

sterling's former mistress and the woman on the videotape revealed, and i mean in all ways tonight. plus national hurricane center, developments in the search for flight 370, one company says it has found a plane. their proof coming up. making lots and lots of things. let's get your business rolling now, everybody sing. ♪ norfolk southern what's your function? ♪ ♪ helping this big country move ahead as one ♪ ♪ norfolk southern how's that function? ♪

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sterling, as you heard, told veteran sportscaster jim gray his team is not for sale. you just heard kevin johnson saying everyone expects him to fight. and commissioner silver said this ban applies only to sterling. let me play how he phrased it. i know phrasing is everything.

because donald you can study documents that show racist comments from him far worse than what he was reported for saying. what was the difference with this? there was an audiotape that couldn't be controlled because it was all over the internet. so i think most certainly people are going to watch out for the new gotcha form that there is to get yourself in trouble with comments i think it would be naive to think he is the only person whoever made a racist comment in private, whether they be nba owners or business owners of other kinds. but i think it's a good warning that people should watch what they say no matter where they are. >> this is a perfect intersection of race, entitlement and privilege. >> they'll say don, i hear it all the time in the boardroom.

i hear it in the locker room. i hear it at the country club. people who say things similar to donald sterling, and no one ever says anything. when you try to intervene, to no avail. he is not the only one. but this is a window into something that we rarely get a window, we rarely get to see. >> it's kind of amazing what it took. you heard jason carroll say this has been gong for decades. it's no secret. he grew up in l.a. it was no secret this guy didn't like people of color, as jason phrased it. >> it's not a surprise with this man. but what has happened today is that racism has been added to the list of kryptonite issues in professional sports. gambling is one, because it goes to the integrity of the game. over the last couple of decades, steroids has become a kryptonite issue because it goes to the integrity of the game. and now racism as well because you just cannot justify having

black men with their excellence and commitment generating billions of dollars of revenue and then have an owner say yeah, but they belong in the field, in the shacks. they can't come in the big house. >> mitch, do you think -- >> that's not new at all. marge schott made awful comments, worse than these kind of comments a long time ago. fudd city zeller got in trouble for comments about tiger woods. sergio garcia not too long ago. anyone that thinks that sports is some kind of a haven against racism doesn't understand that sports is just part of society. it has pockets that are racist, just like the rest of society. but it's not new. this isn't like -- i don't agree that it's a new issue that is suddenly explosive. i think in the day and age of the internet and audio tapes, videotapes, cell phone cameras, where people can catch you saying things that you thought were a joke, private, or just were never going to get out, suddenly that's what has become

the new tinder. but racism has long been an issue in sports. >> but sports can move the culture. you look at jackie robinson, sports can make a difference in culture. >> thanks very much to all three of you. "outfront" next, the woman that you heard during the racist rant, who is she? donald sterling's former mistress "outfront." and one company says it has found a plane in the indian ocean. could it be that plane? >> we had a moral obligation to get our findings out to the authorities. passion... became your business. at&t can help simplify how you manage it. so you can focus on what you love most. when everyone and everything works together, business just sings.

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breaking news. los angeles clippers owner donald sterling banned for life. and the woman who may have brought him down, his 31-year-old ex-mistress. you see there to the right of him, there to the left. she is heard with sterling in audio recordings. but who is v. stiviano, as she calls herself? since the taped los angeles home tuesdasaying one de been there and done that it was her instagram page and this photo with magic johnson that reportedly sent her boyfriend, donald sterling over the edge. >> all you ever wanted to do was fight. you're a born fighter. >> reporter: stiviano was president of the company bearing

her name. it was suspended in 2008 by the california franchise tax board. though it's unclear what the company did, stiviano describes herself as artist, lover, writer, chef, poet, stylist, philanthropist, saying i do it all. >> she definitely likes the rap world, because she has tried to kind of, you know, get close to various people in the rap game in l.a. i know that she knows some rappers. >> reporter: court crowds and public records show stiviano used at least five names. they include vanessa marry perez, monica gallegos and valdez. during the famous recorded argument, sterling seems at a loss for words when his girlfriend lays out her ethnicity. >> i'm a mixed girl. and you're in love with me. and i'm black and mexican. whether you like it or not.

whether the world accepts it or not. >> reporter: born october 1982, stiviano is almost 50 years younger than the 80-year-old billionaire. she met the mogul about four years ago. he apparently began supporting her almost immediately. in a lawsuit filed before the tapes went public, sterling's wife alleges stiviano targeted her husband and initiated an participated in a sexual relationship with him in exchange for gifts, allegedly worth more than $2.5 million. those gifts include a $1.8 million l.a. duplex and two bentleys and a ferrari, with license plates on instagram that read i heart you v, and v hearts you. according to tmz sports, stiviano said she was argue qvcing his conversations at his request. >> yet she claims she is not his girlfriend, just an employee, an archivist who is tasked with recording conversations and working with the clippers

related charity. >> reporter: a team spokesman says stiviano did not work for the clippers organization. sterling had several other family charities. now, stiviano's lawyer says he plans to respond in the next several days there is a new piece of video out actually that shows stiviano in a car with a friend. it's taken by a friend. a friend says -- and she basically says you don't want to know how much this costs. it's kind of recognize the see her. now you're seeing a little more of the car than her. but anyway, there she is. so a little bit of live -- >> he gave her classic cars? >> it's unclear when the relationship ended or ever did. but sterling's wife, this is what is so interesting, she is suing stiviano saying he had no right to give you any of this property north, apartment, not the cars, not the jewelry if he gave jewelry because this was our community property. and right now it belongs to me, and you don't get to keep it. so she wants it all back. >> wow. thank you very much to deb. this story is incredible. on so many levels.

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an australian company says it's found a plane wreckage that could be malaysia flight 370. the location? the bay of bengal. thousands of miles from the current underwater search area, a location search officials ruled out weeks ago. but this company, georesonance, says they have proof there is a plane under the water. these images, they say they gave the location information to malaysian officials on march 31st. malaysian officials say they're still assessing the information. also today, we heard for the first time the audio of the plane's final conversation with the control tower. miguel marquez is in perth tonight. miguel, officials called off the

air search today. are they still confident they're searching in the right place, now we have these new images and allegations? >> yes, they are is the simple answer. they believe that tin mar sat data and the pings they heard, two of them of high quality, two of them of lower quality certainly are good. australian officials are discounting what georesonance is saying, that the area where they are looking isn't even on the northern arc, and it is not something that they are concerning themselves with, although the nations are. all of this as the bluefin continues to search here. it did not go down yesterday because of weather. maybe back down today. we'll find that out shortly. but it will continue to search north from where it was previously. the site of the second ping. and it will move toward the area of the first ping, which was picked up on april 1. it has until about may 15th before that ship. but it's on the ocean shield. has to come back into port for refueling. back to you. >> thanks very much, miguel. now let's go to tom foreman.

tom, what is the science behind these images and this claim by this private company, this australian company georesonance? >> we don't know the details of the science, erin, and that's what has people so troubled. what we do know is all of the search above the water has been about visible light, what you can see. what this company is talking about is the things that go beyond that in the electromagnetic spectrum. things that have a shorter wavelength or longer wavelength. everything out there see mitting energy all the time. they're saying by scrutinizing images they've kpap captured of this other energy, that's how they came up with these images, something they say would send out the signature of aluminum, and a lot of it in this sort of configuration under the water. something that sent off the signature of titanium in this configuration. these are things you would find a lot of in an airplane out there. and there is more than just that they said there is also an indication of copper in the configuration that you might find in the wiring. and even something that might

indicate the engine alloys also in the same configuration. so basically, what they're doing is a looking at natural environment and saying we're getting some unnatural readings there that weren't there before that suggests all of these things are at the bottom of the water there. erin? >> tom, why wouldn't they just go investigate it, even if they don't think that's what it is, go check it out? >> because those very questions that miguel raised a little while ago. think about this. if this in fact happened, you have to be able to believe that this plane not only landed here, but that it also maintained largely its shape. because most of these fit the configuration of where a plane would be. if that were the case, erin, then how come there are no life rafts? how come nobody tried to get off? how come nobody tried to go anywhere else? but yet, they're stand big this saying our science is good and we want people to go check it out. with no other leads, a lot of people say they ought. to. >> thank you very much. obviously that fits in with the theory some have put out there about an intact plane.

joining me arthur rosenberg, les abend and jeff wise. what do you think, jeff? >> you know, it's very interesting of the timing of this coming out. because the australians' underwater search seems to have hit more or less of a dead-end. and now, there has always been theories that people have. i get a lot of e-mails and comments on my blog about oh, i saw this picture from a satellite photo. have i this reason to think it's over here. lots of people have lots of theories. now there is an explosion. and this is just one of hundreds. >> right. i mean, although they do have these images. let me, arthur, play for you what the ceo of this company said as to why they released the images to the public at this time. >> sure, sure. >> we're a large group of scientists, and we were being ignored. and we thought we had a moral obligation to get the finding out into the authorities. >> well, look. here is the bottom line. he said that to add gravitas to his analysis.

this analysis, speck spectral analysis, from what i've been told it's based on the demilitarized russian military which has had success on land. >> they use this to learn whether there is chemical weapons or nuclear weapons under water. that's why it has this specialty in detecting these certain types of isotopes. >> it's also been used to find metals for miners and things like that. but i am skeptically cautious about this. i'm still saying the plane is in the south indian ocean. but what is important here is they claim -- if you buy into the technology, they claim that they found titanium. they found aluminum. they found chromium, which is used in steel, possibly molybdenum which is also used. it's in an area which i think should be looked at. there are other ways that those metals could get there. it could have come out of the ganges river, one of the most h

of confidence. do you think we should look? >> i've expressed, erin, skepticism about the pings underwater, not the handshakes from the inmarsat data. >> the pings underwater, the black box pings. >> there are some of our analysts that have expressed the same skepticism and we have discussed that together. but this data to me seems -- i won't pretend to even know the science or be familiar with this particular science be. the bottom line is they claim to have sent this out two weeks

prior to the battery life going dead on the black box pingers. okay. if it was sent to all these experts, the ntsb, rolls-royce, boeing, you can go on down the list. >> right. >> they probably got this information and said not so much. and we would like our inmarsat data. i'm sure this was not done in a vacuum. and none of this matches up with any of the handshake situation. it makes no sense to me. >> it is incredible, jeff, the reliance on the inmarsat data. it may end up completely vindicated. no one came up with anything better. everyone who seems to be involved in this buys into it. we've never been given the fullbackup to where this data comes from. all we know is it's an unprecedented use of technology. >> about mar sat pings, absolutely. last night the malaysians did release to the families a chart that showed what looked like ping distances, which is a piece of the puzzle that we've really been hankering for. it was very fuzzy. >> or handshakes from the plane to the satellite, those connections. >> which could be a huge piece of the puzzle. butz but it's hard to know what you're looking at. >> i don't believe they said anything with reference to a dead-end, i don't think we have

reached a dead-end. we're still searching. >> except for they're now searching a 21,000 -- they went from little a little area. >> i think that's the whole point. the inmarsat data together with the radar and the sonar pings put us in an area. it's a large area. i think it was overly optimistic to think they were ever going go to the area -- >> but you all agree they should go check this out? look, if they have a location. >> there are hundreds -- if you went chasing after every person who was a thousand percent convinced. >> this isn't every person. this isn't a random person. >> it kind of is. it's just a website. we don't know who these people. >> it is a company. they came on cnn. it's a company that does this. but that's what they do. >> it's not that expensive. i think more importantly, this report was kind of deep-sixed. it was hid from the public. and now it came out. i think we owe to it the families to go take a look. >> thanks very much to all three of you. and "outfront" next, the recordings of the pilots' final words. the partner of an american on

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which may be fatal. stop taking victoza and call your doctor right away if you have signs of pancreatitis, such as severe pain that will not go away in your abdomen or from your abdomen to your back, with or without vomiting. tell your doctor about all the medicines you take and if you have any medical conditions. taking victoza with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. the most common side effects are nausea, diarrhea, and headache. some side effects can lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney problems. if your pill isn't giving you the control you need, ask your doctor about non-insulin victoza. it's covered by most health plans. tonight the final words from malaysia flight 370. after weeks of pleading with malaysian officials to release more information, family members of flight 370 passengers started to get some answers. for the first time, they heard what investigators say were captain shay's last words to ground control before the flight vanished.

>> one of the family members that pushed for the release of that audiotape is sarah bajc. her partner, philip wood was on that flight. sarah joins me from beijing. sarah, hearing that audio, i'm just wondering how that made you feel. you've been asking for it. this takes you inside the plane where your partner philip was, a voice he may have heard. how did you feel when you heard those words from the pilot? >> well, it's a touch back to help me make this feel like it's real, as opposed to just a story someone else is telling.

and i think part of the request of families or the request by families for this kind of information also things like the video clips from the airport helps us to make this feel more factual, i guess. it's great progress that malaysian airlines has released this to us now, and we're very thankful they have done it. >> and sarah, the air search, as you know, they say is now over. do you think that they're giving up? >> well, it does feel that way. but i also understand it. i mean, the likelihood of there still be floating debris is pretty small. and i would rather see those assets used in some other way. however, the pullback in general on a global level of pursuing finding this plane is troublesome, because this is still a very serious security concern for every single person who gets on an airport.

>> it is. and do you think at this point, sarah, that there -- we talk about whether they're looking in the right place, you and i have. be you know that private australian company has put out the images of what it says could be wreckage from the plane you. had a chance to talk to the director of that company. what did he tell you? and do you think that actually could be the plane that they're looking 3,000 miles in the wrong place? well, i hope it is not the plane, but i do believe it is worth looking to. we're talking about either an indian or a chinese navy vessel with some sort of sonar capability to go to that spot. it is only about a two-hour distance from the coast of bengal, it is not a huge amount of assets. but it would confirm or deny this belief. this company contracts for metal for their business. and if indeed it is a boat well,

then we know that their technology works. and we can perhaps leverage their technology to find other concentrations of metal. so we don't want it to be the plane but we do believe it is worth following up on. >> and sarah, when you talk about you don't want this to be the plane, at this point have you been able to get your heart around the fact that the plane may have crashed? >> well, both of my head and my heart have realized since day one that that was the likely outcome. but you know, as long as there is that tiny chance that there could be any survivors we owe it to them to continue to look. and beyond the ability to find the plane. so whether it is to be reunited with our family members or so say good-bye to them properly, we still have to find the plane. and you know then we can start to understand what happened. because you know we don't ever want another plane to vanish like this. we don't ever want anybody else

to have to walk in our shoes. >> do you think -- that they may never find the plane? i mean, that is a possibility. i mean, a few weeks ago i wouldn't have thought that i would ask you that question. but do you realize that could be the fact now? >> it could be. and that probably is the scariest possible outcome at this point. because i mean, what do the families do at that point except for continue to push. and i think we're quite united at this point. we have more than 300 family members signed onto our organization. and we will leverage every resource we have to continue the investigation and to continue to try to find that plane. >> all right, sarah, thank you. >> first, ebola, and now, tonight, doctors are struggling to contain a deadly virus in the middle east. it is in the same family as

sars, fever, shortness of breath, pneumonia, and in severe cases kidney failure are what it does. it sickened over 30,000 people alone. and dr. sanjay gupta was in africa covering the ebola outbreak, now we're hearing about mers, what is causing this to spike? >> you know, all of these if you look at the history, they make the jump from animals to humans. sometimes it is easier to figure out as you and i talked about. we don't know for sure where it comes from with ebola. but we get an idea of where it is coming from, from mers, and that is single hump camels, the type of camel that could harbor this virus. it could be living in these camels, but for some reason it

makes the jump from animals to humans. it is a fascinating process, they screen all sorts of animals, pigs, fish, birds, a real mystery, but they believe they have it solved. >> and obviously, we sometimes make jokes on the show. i know they say they have done the studies to determine that is where it comes from. how does it spread from a camel to a person? and why is this a saudi arabia specific situation? >> you know, a lot of times these viruses will start in a certain part of the world, we don't know how it spreads. while they found the actual virus in camels there could be other viruses, as well, as part of the mix. it could be camel meat and drinking unpasteurized camel milk. it could be droplets after people are around camels.

it could be the spit or something from camels that gets on a person's skin. you remember that is how ebola transfers, gets on a person's skin. they have shown it can spread from human to human as well, but very difficult for that to happen. >> could someone have this virus, get on an airplane, and all of a sudden the infection become something significant, huge? >> i think that is a real concern. and you know, you know me well enough i don't like to alarm about these things. there are two things, one is an incubation period, you could be exposed, you could have the virus and not be sick and get on a plane. in fact, it has already happened where you have people in europe who have had the mers virus, and they got it from saudi arabia. the other concern is now these are places where there are international airports. some type of travel can happen much more quickly. >> all right, sanjay gupta,

thank you so much. up next, a man tries to spice up his college graduation with a back flip. it did not go well. jeanne moos is next. grossemisconduct... ortho crime files. ...disturbing the pantry. a house, under siege. homeowner calls in the big guns. say helto home defense max. with the one-touch continuous-spray wand. kills bugs inside... ...and prevents new ones for up to a year. guaranteed.

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. there is so many ways to celebrate a college graduation, a back flip usually not on that

list, jeanne moos shows us why. >> reporter: at the university of michigan, the graduates and the pronouncement of names. a sea of caps from which? >> robert jeffrey blank. >> reporter: bobby blank tried to stand out with a back flip that back fired. oh, okay. i don't know. i don't know. we're just going to give it a -- going to give it a minute. >> reporter: instead of landing on his feet he landed on his face. >> my hands were holding my diploma and my cap, so they didn't do a great job of helping me, but i'm okay, i'm standing. >> reporter: now bobby, here is what you meant it to look like, off comes the cap. this guy got a pat on the back, while all bobby got was surprised stares.

by blowing the back flip, he graduated to immortality, if he had landed it, it would have been just another opportunity. like the guy who had a superman outfit or the guy who did the worm. or the nyu graduate who took off his pants and ran onto the field when the graduation was held at yankees stadium. at least bobby didn't end up in handcuffs or pull up patch adams. wearing a graduation gown like a hospital gown, davenport university had no comment on bobby's back flip, but they didn't seem overly concerned. >> it was kind of a spur of the moment thing so i apologized to the people behind me that it may have taken away from their shining light. >> bobby says his gown stopped him from getting the full rotation. but just to prove that he can do it? take it from a pre-school

graduation? grads will be grads. >> i know you're going to be successful in everything you do. >> reporter: well, maybe not everything. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. and he just had to show us he actually could do one. "ac360" starts now. good evening, everyone, tonight, breaking news on several fronts, we're waiting to hear from the l.a. clippers doc rivers, and sterling reportedly says he is not selling the team although question is what will his coach say? stay tuned. that will happen this hour. we're also facing another line of potential deadly storms, and in a rampage that cost 70 million people to be in harm's way today. and later, these ghostly